Readers of TVnavi magazine have cast their votes for 2008’s Drama of the Year, and on Saturday it was announced that the winner is the TBS suspense series “Maou” that starred Satoshi Ohno and Toma Ikuta. Ohno also was named Best Actor for his role in that series.

Aoi Miyazaki was voted Best Actress for “Atsuhime.” Best Supporting Actor and Actress went to Eita and Juri Ueno, who both appeared in Fuji TV’s “Last Friends.” In the Best Newcomer category, Ryosuke Yamada (“One-Pound Gospel,” “Scrap Teacher”) and Manami Higa (“Code Blue”) received the most votes.

Hurrayyy for a new Sakurai Sho drama called “The Quiz Show”… This is actually the 2nd season as there was a 1st one made last year but with a whole different cast.

Sho plays a host on a quiz show. There are different guest that come on the show in order to get the “Dream Chance”, which is getting whatever you wish for to come true. But the questions come out very easy and just based on common sense and knowledge. BUT as the game progresses, the questions become more intimate and are actually questions based on your on life. Of coz mostly things that you dont want people to know about.

But Sho’s character also has a past of which he cannot remember anything about. And the show’s producer who is played by Kanjani8’s Yokoyama You is one character to look out for as it seems maybe he knows abt Sakurai’s past and is that evil what i would call “Do-S” man. haha..

I muz say how impressed i was by Nino’s acting skills in this special. He plays a 22 year old cerebral palsy. Juz graduated from vocal school, he’s trying to land a job as a salesman juz like his late father. His mother is wif him every step of the way taking care and looking after him. This is actually based on a true story of Bill Porter.It’s a story of a man believing in going door to door to sell his products.

Nino’s juz amazing in this. Reali reali amazing. I nv can believe how well that man can act. I tot it was so real. Every moment, every movement touched me completely. I cried, rooted for him and laughed with him. It was reali a beautiful drama. I love Kato Rosa too. She’s juz a delight to watch. And also Higuchi Kanako who played Nino’s mum was amazing at her role.

Nino has been on a roll.. this is goin to be his 2nd SP this year.. I still have not watch “Door to Door” yet but i know he reali gave an extrodianary performance. This is some news of his new drama SP.

Arashi’s Kazunari Ninomiya (25) and actress Mao Inoue (22) will co-star in a drama special on TBS. The story is based on two novels written by professional windsurfer Natsuki Iijima, who died of cancer in 2005.

During Iijima’s battle with cancer, he wrote an essay titled “Gan ni Ikasarete,” which formed part of the basis for the 2007 film “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara,” a biography of Iijima that starred Takao Osawa and Misaki Ito. Around the same time, Iijima penned a novel also titled “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara,” as well as a sequel titled “Kamisama ga Kureta Namida.” The drama special is based on those two books, which sold more than 450,000 copies combined.

The drama is also being called “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara.” Ninomiya plays the main character, a psychiatrist working in the counseling room of a cancer treatment center by the beach. While tending to the patients, part of his job involves taking dictation from them when they want to send a letter to a loved one.

Inoue plays the psychiatrist’s wife and mother to the couple’s twin daughters. Other cast members include Nobuko Miyamoto as a nurse, Yusuke Santamaria as a surgeon, and Naoto Ogata as the owner of a surf shop.

Readers of TVnavi magazine have cast their votes for 2008’s Drama of the Year, and on Saturday it was announced that the winner is the TBS suspense series “Maou” that starred Satoshi Ohno and Toma Ikuta. Ohno also was named Best Actor for his role in that series.

Aoi Miyazaki was voted Best Actress for “Atsuhime.” Best Supporting Actor and Actress went to Eita and Juri Ueno, who both appeared in Fuji TV’s “Last Friends.” In the Best Newcomer category, Ryosuke Yamada (“One-Pound Gospel,” “Scrap Teacher”) and Manami Higa (“Code Blue”) received the most votes.

Arashi’s Sho Sakurai has been chosen to star in the NTV drama series “The Quiz Show.” The show is a prime time version of last summer’s late night drama “The Quiz Show,” which starred Jin Katagiri and Shigeyuki Totsugi.

In the new version, Sakurai plays the host of a live TV quiz program. On the show, contestants who achieve 7 correct answers win 10 million yen, and those who get 8 correct answers will have one of their wishes granted by the TV network. But while the questions start off innocently enough, as the game progresses, the questions gradually delve into the contestants’ past crimes or indiscretions, presenting them with the dilemma of having to confess their guilt in order to win.

Sakurai’s character also has a mysterious past. Before becoming the show’s host, an accident had left him in a vegetative state for six years, which also resulted in him losing most of his memories.

The supporting cast includes Kanjani8’s Yu Yokoyama as the show’s director, Aya Matsuura as a rookie assistant director, and Miki Maya as the producer. Broadcast begins on April 18 in NTV’s Saturday 9pm time slot.